Would you circumisize your baby boy?

Question

If you would or wouldn't - why?!? What the heck is all the controversy about?

Honestly, it wouldn't matter to me, I'd leave it up to my husband. Thanks for all of the answers though. I'm not pregnant or anything or have a baby boy, I was just wondering.

I was pregnant with my girl and at the beginning I thought it might be a boy and I was considering doing it. But I heard so much stuff about it, I wasn't sure anymore. Thank god it was a girl!

Answer 1

There are arguments both for and against circumcision. Easier hygiene of a circumcised penis is the strongest argument for it. Also, in the US it is more the norm. In other countries it is less so.

A good thing to consider when deciding on circumcision is whether the baby's father is circumcised or not. Chances are your child will want to be like his Daddy, and that extends to circumcision as well. If he is uncircumcised and his father is circumcised (or vice versa) he will eventually wonder why.

Honestly, I don't see what the controversy is about either. Provided you take proper care of the penis, either circumcised or uncircumcised is completely acceptable. It is simply individual preference.

I am due to have my first son in a few weeks, and I will be having him circumcised. There are many factors that led me to choose this. For example, my husband is circumcised, it is standard practice in my area and I want my son to fit in, and ultimately it is easier to take care of.

Answer 2

Whether you believe in evlolution or creation doesn't really matter, the answer's the same. either god made foreskins for a reason (and who are are we to question his design) or millions of years of evolution saw reason to develop it/keep it. I can't figure out why people say circumcisions look better, they're amputations! I think we need to think outside the box, europe doesn't circumcise and yet they have less 'related' disease, hmmm......
a little boy left the way nature made him is not gross. If it's been left up to you dads, a good resource is fathermag.com
My sons are not circumcised and neither are my brothers. my son was horrified when he saw his cousin's foreskin was "missing", he thinks it would be awful to be circumcised. He never noticed or cared that he didn't match his dad because daddies penises look so different from a little boy's anyway. My brothers said they never cared about matching either and were just grateful later in life that matching genitals wasn't a must in our house. They also say that since they shower every day, there is no white stuff, cheese, smegma or whatever else you want to call it.

Answer 3

While I have never heard it to be the cause of cancer, I have seen many many articles regarding infections (I work in a medical library). You definitely can't count on a young boy to keep 'it' clean and all to often not being thorough in doing so will result in uncomfortable and sometimes painful infections. How it can be compared to female circumcision (besides the word) is beyond me. A penis will (unless something goes drastically wrong) function just fine post-circumcision...female genitalia does not. And as more than a few people have said - an uncut penis is so unattractive!

Answer 4

I had both of my boys circumcised purely for aesthetic reasons. I don't like the way uncircumcised penises look. I think they're easier to keep clean, too. Right now, I bathe my boys and I know to pull the tiny bit of skin back and clean under it. When they're old enough to bathe themselves and eventually shower, do you think they're going to take the time to do this? Probably not. Smegma stinks, and the thought of it building up under a foreskin and the boys not washing it...(shudder). Also, my husband is circumcised, and I couldn't think of a way to tell them (when they're old enough) why their penises look different from daddy's. I'd rather put them through a little discomfort when they're 2 days old and have it be a distant memory then have them decide to be circumcised when they're young adults and go through a few days of misery. One of my boys slept through his circ and the other one just looked around and took in the scenery. No problems with the surgeries...no infections, aftercare problems, etc.

Answer 5

I wouldn't circumcize a baby except for those *extremely* rare cases of medical need or for religious reasons. It is painful, potentially dangerous, and can result in your having a girl to raise (one of the potential accidents that happens sometimes is amputation of the penis). It has no known health benefits (all the ones that have been theorized in the past have been disproven). Wanting a baby to "look like his father" Is just plain stupid--would you put your baby at risk of losing his vision to make sure baby's eyes were the same color as the father's? Which do you think you'll look at more often--his face or his penis?!

Answer 6

Absolutely -- circumcision prevents bacteria, and cancer of the penis in later life. Smegma is a collection of dead bacteria and skin oils. Over the years, the skin in the forskin becomes first irritated, then precancerous. It is difficult to keep the area clean enough. This was understood thousands of years ago, as a cleanliness issue. There is no reduction of sensation with intercourse as an adult male

Answer 7

My sister-in-law had both of her sons done. It really is all preference. she didn't want to have to deal with the thing so she had them take it off the day after he was born. The only problem now that she's trying to potty train him it makes it harder because he has nothing to hold and aim. It has made it kinda hard for him. It is really up to the parents of the kid. Looks don't really matter. No matter what you do the kid will learn to live with or without it.

Answer 8

Yes, we had our son circumcised the day after he was born. My mother is a nurse, and said that the chance of infection in the excess skin are high. I actually read something and a woman said that she didn't because she wanted her son to have a better sex life as an adult. Give me a break! My son's sex life was the last thing on my mind!

Answer 9

I had it done when he was about a week old. I think it is more sanitary. And he only cried for about 5 minutes, mainly because he didn't like the nurses holding him down.
I think that part of the controversy comes from the fact that most insurance companies wont pay for it now. And people are now questioning whether its really necessary. My opinion is that it is medically proven to be a necessary precaution to have it done. So that they wont have to have it done when they are older, because of medical conditions

Answer 10

I have had two boys and they have both been circumisized. and i did it for health reasons. i am prone to kidney infections and kidney trouble. and anything i can do to lower their risk of suffering i am all for.

although these days it is more done so that as the child grows up they dont feel like they are different then other kids.